A reason to live
by linalove
Summary: The sequel to my Christmas story "A Christmas Gift".What happens after the night Sweeney Todd got his revenge?What will happen with Jacqueline? Read to find out.Please review!


Hello again! Here I am with a new short story! This is the sequel of my Christmas story **"A Christmas Gift",** since some of you asked me to make another one. I have to warn you though that this story is a bit darker than the first one. Not anything terrible but there is a character death. I think some of you will be angry at me for doing this but it was the only way I could continue this. This takes place the night that Sweeney killed the judge and Lucy. Toby is gone too.

Okay, so on with the story and please review!**:)**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Sweeney Todd!

**A reason to live**

Mrs. Lovett knew she was going to die. He would not forgive her; not for this. She had gone too far. She had lied and she had deceived him. His eyes, his so dark almost black eyes stared at her for a while before looking down to his wife; to his precious Lucy.

"You lied to me…" he whispered to her and she shook her head.

"I never lied…I said she took the poison …I never said that she died…" she said to him but he only continued staring at the dead body of Lucy, his hand resting lightly on the woman's shoulder. His eyes stared with longing at the damaged face of his wife, his face full of so much sorrow that she thought for a moment that he had forgotten about her presence behind him.

"I never mean to hurt you, Mr. Todd…I only did it for you…What's dead is dead…" she whispered as she came to stand behind him and he slowly stood up, his hand closing into a fist around his razor as he shut his eyes, trying to stop her voice from entering his mind. He trusted that woman, he never thought she would betray him but she did. He slowly turned around and faced her, his face changing into a softer expression while her eyes gazed at him hopefully.

_Naïve woman…_ He thought to himself as he forced a smile form to his lips.

"Of course…come here, my love…" he said to her and watched with satisfaction the fear mixed along with the hope that was visible in her brown eyes.

"Can you forgive me…?" she asked with wide eyes and he smirked.

"Of course…come closer…nothing to fear, my love…" he said as he backed her to the bake house wall and pulled her into his bloodied arms. He could feel her trembling in his arms and he greeted his teeth as he danced with her around the bake house.

"We could have a life us two, love…" she said to him and he smiled again falsely, his eyes darting to the hot oven for a minute. He continued moving in circles with her, slowly walking them towards the blazing oven.

"Toby and little Jacqueline would be so happy by the sea…don't you think Mr.T?" she asked, her fear long forgotten into his embrace. Sweeney almost froze in his tracks when she heard Jacqueline's name but he didn't stop moving, getting closer to the open oven, his eyes unreadable as he gave a stiff nod that made the woman in his arms smile widely at him, not even realizing where he was leading them.

"Whatever you want, my pet…" he hissed and she beamed at him, oblivious of his intentions.

Only a few steps were left now…a little more and the blasted woman would be gone…

Sweeney looked down at her and tightened his hold on her hands while she looked into his eyes lovingly. The barber sneered inside a she watched her look at him with so much devotion.

_You're not going to smile in a minute, pet…_ He thought as he could now feel the hotness coming from the oven.

Nine steps…eight….seven….six…

Her eyes widened as she felt the warmth behind her back, her hands tried to wiggle away from his.

Five….four…three…

Sweeney glared down at her and she saw it then. The hate, the disgust and the sorrow. She forced her body to fight, to free herself from his grasp but he was too strong.

Two steps….

"Please no, Mr. Todd…no…" she cried as her back now faced the hot fire, the barber's hands tight on her arms as he tried to push her in but she held her ground.

"Damn you…" he hissed between his teeth as he freed her hands and griped her arms tightly, bruising her skin. The blood from his hands, coating the white skin of her arms.

"Please…don't do this…stop!" she choked out desperately as she felt her strength lessen and his getting stronger.

"Why should I spare your worthless life you lying bitch?!Give me one good reason why I shouldn't send you straight to hell, right now!" he shouted at her as he stopped trying to push her into the fire.

Tears escaped her wide eyes and she couldn't speak for a moment.

"You lied to me! My Lucy is dead because of you! Why shouldn't I let you burn, you backstabbing bitch!?" he shouted in front of her face and she looked at him.

"You n…need me! Who is going to cover your mess if I'm not alive!?" she choked out and he laughed darkly.

"You think I need you? You are useless to me." He spat into her face and she swallowed hard. He growled and started putting pressure on her body again, pushing her towards the fire and she tried to fight him again.

"Don't please! I beg you! Think of Jacqueline!" she cried out and he froze for the second time that night. She was using the only thing that he cared about for her advantage. That angered him even more but she continued talking since she saw that it had an effect on him.

"Please, love…who is going to take care of her…think of her…please…" she whispered and he looked at her with hate in his eyes.

"I am thinking of her." And with that he pushed her forcibly into the oven with a strength that he didn't even know he possessed. Her screams echoed through the bake house as he closed the door and stepped back from it, breathing heavily, his hands aching from the force of his grip on her. When the screams were ceased he turned around and looked at the bodies of the judge and his wife. He stepped closer to them and kneeled down, picking up his wife's lifeless body and cradled her against his chest. He looked at her for a while with unblinking eyes before placing a kiss on her forehead. The barber started walking towards the oven again and opened it with one hand. He placed the body inside and quickly turned away from the scene, his eyes red and shrunken more than usual. He walked back to the judge and started leading him to the oven as well. He threw him inside and shut the door harshly with a loud bang.

"Burn in hell, bastard." He hissed in a low voice as he backed away from the oven. He turned around and picked up his discarded razor that had fallen out of his grasp at some point and without looking back walked up the stairs but not before locking the door, in case Toby decided to come back but the barber rather doubt it. He walked up to the shop and looked around the empty kitchen before heading to the baker's bedroom. He opened the door and closed it firmly behind him. He walked closer to the old crib that was resting at the corner of the room near the bed and a small smile formed on his lips as he saw the squirming bundle of blankets. He closed his bloodied razor, not even bothering to clean his precious friend like he would have done months ago and leaned over the crib. The baby was wiggling in her covers, blinking up at him with her big innocent eyes.

"Hello, little one…" he whispered in a soft voice, completely different from the voice he had used a few minutes earlier. The baby stared up at him, her small hands reaching for the familiar arms and the demon barber smiled even wider at her action.

"Missed me, Jacqueline?" he whispered as he started reaching for her but stopped when he realized that his hands were red from the blood. He quickly pulled them back and stepped back with a frown and a shake of his head.

"Can't touch you like this…" he said more to himself than to her before looking around the room for something to clean himself with. He saw the bathroom door and with a last long look at the baby he started walking towards it. He walked in and took of his shirt and vest before washing his arms and chest from the blood. When he was done he proceeded with his face. He looked at the old mirror of the room and frowned when he saw that he had blood even on his hair. He muttered a curse and started washing his hair too.

In a few minutes he was done and walked out of the bathroom, searching for a shirt when he heard whimpers coming from Jacqueline's mouth. He frowned and walked over to her. The minute she saw his face, she stopped her wiggling and looked up at him with outstretched hands. He bit his lip and picked her up, cradling her against his chest like he had done earlier with Lucy's body. He rocked back and forth like he had those three last months, trying to calm her crying. He started pacing in the room, humming a calm tune and holding her close to his surprisingly warm chest.

"Hush….shh…" he cooed to her and after a hew minutes her crying ceased and she hiccupped a few times before snuggling closer to his warmth. He walked with her and sat down on the bed. He looked at her for a long time before speaking hoarsely.

"We are together now, my love…just you and me…" he whispered to her and the baby blinked up at him, with her red, from the crying, eyes.

"I have only you now…only you…" he whispered again to her.

"We don't need her…we don't need anyone, do we, my love?" he said to her with a small smile.

"I'll take care of you…no one's going to take you away from me…" he whispered as he tightened his hold on the baby girl.

"We'll be okay together, won't we?" he said as he brushed his hand over the smooth cheek of Jacqueline's face before tracing her small nose. He stood up from the bed and looked around the room.

"This place even smells like her…" he muttered as his eyes spotted a few of his clean shirts on the vanity. He walked to them and took them with his left hand before walking to the crib. He took the baby's blanket and walked out of the room and up to his shop. The moment he walked in he saw all the mess.

The blood was everywhere except his bed where it was at the far corner of the room. He placed Jacqueline on his bed and placed the blanket around the baby before putting on one of his clean shirts. He entered his bathroom and returned with a bucket of water and a cloth. He started cleaning the chair, the window and then the floor with deep concentration on his face.

"We don't want the authorities to know what happened in here, do we?" he muttered to himself then his head snapped up as he heard the sound of Jacqueline's giggling at the corner of the room. Apparently the baby girl found extremely fascinating the blanket that was draped over her and was playing with the end of it. The baby's giggle was music to the barber's ears and he almost felt shame for doing what he was doing in the presence of an innocent baby. But he had to clean, hadn't he?

In about an hour or so he was done and he realized with irritation that he was still all bloodied again. He checked on the baby and saw that she lying calmly on the bed, playing with her hands and he nodded approvingly at her.

"Be a good girl, now, Jacqueline…" he said to her and the baby just giggled. He entered the bathroom and quickly cleaned himself once again. He looked at his mirror and grimaced.

_Nice father figure for a girl you'll be, Todd._

Sweeney's jaw clenched and looked away from the mirror. He sighed and walked out of the room. He locked the door to his shop and walked back to the bed, occupied by the baby. He sat down to it and smiled.

"Not asleep yet….? Waiting for me, you little minx?" he said to her and tickled her belly, causing her to giggle again. He maneuvered her higher on the bed and he lied down too, covering them both under the covers. He brought the baby to his chest as he lied on his side and fixed her blanket better around her.

"There…warm enough…? Good…" he whispered as Jacqueline snuggled close to him and her eyes flattered closed. The last three months Sweeney took the baby to sleep with him many nights. It kind of calmed him somehow to feel her close to him, to take care of her. It helped him not to think about his revenge and about all the things he had been through all those years. The damned baker always complained about it but she wasn't there to complain this time, was she?

He watched as she slept and smiled sadly.

"I can live for you…I have a reason to live…if you didn't exist…I think I wouldn't probably be here now…I would have joined my Lucy…" he whispered as he stroked the baby's small hand before bringing it to his lips for a kiss.

"I think I'm obsessed with you…God help me…" he muttered with a chuckle as he too closed his eyes and fell into a troubled sleep with Jacqueline close beside him. Maybe he could have a life again; maybe he could be a father again. Miracles happen every day after all. And Jacqueline was a miracle; a living miracle for Sweeney Todd.

**The End.**

**Author's note:** Thank you for reading! Please leave a review and tell me your thoughts! I would really appreciate it! **:)**


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